Mark Bittman's Pasta With Clams
Published April 23, 2013
Evan Sung for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
24 to 48 littleneck clams (the amount depends on size and your budget, or luck; in any case, more is better), scrubbed
Salt (probably not much) and pepper to taste
12 ounces long pasta, like spaghetti or linguine
¼ cup olive oil, or more
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 cloves sliced garlic, or to taste
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
69 grams carbs; 39 milligrams cholesterol; 552 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 791 milligrams sodium; 30 grams protein; 2 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Steam the clams in a covered pot (a glass top is very nice, voyeuristically speaking). You don’t need any liquid other than what the clams will release. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
- Step 2
After the clams open — it could take as little as 10 minutes — uncover and cool. Take the meat out and strain and reserve the liquid; make sure to leave any sand behind. Chop the clams if they’re big.
- Step 3
Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water. Put ¼ cup olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is warm, add the red pepper flakes and garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the clams and continue to cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add about ½ cup of the reserved clam liquid.
- Step 4
Drain the pasta when it’s nearly done and stir it into the clams. Cook, stirring, until the pasta is tender and the mixture is saucy. Add more clam-cooking liquid (or hot water or white wine), if necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a little more oil if you like. Garnish, and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
Canned clams are an acceptable option if fresh clams are not available, or too pricey. However, the other ingredients should be fresh (especially the Italian parsley).
With a deft hand and good ingredients, this can be wonderful. The best bowl of pasta I've ever had was very similar, at an Italian restaurant in Belgium. A perfect balance of linguini, a splash of good but light olive oil, barely cooked garlic, small fresh clams in the shell, a little salt. Parsley was more than a garnish - the dish would not taste the same without it - but only a small amount was used.
Restaurants in the US tend to use use a heavy hand with the sauce. It's a shame.
oh no, kale doesn't fit with this delicious tender dish.
Good Lord, this was good. I steamed the clams in separate high sided dishes and added some water to each pan. Added the clams and the liquid produced back into the pan w the garlic, oil et al before stirring. If you can get fresh clams please use them in this recipe. No shade towards canned clams, I use them all the time in chowders but for a recipe with so few ingredients, fresh does make a real difference in the taste of what you’ll get
I added a half cup of dry white wine to the clams before steaming and that made for a more flavorful sauce for the pasta. Wonderful recipe!
I used about 1/3 c white wine to steam the clams. Also added some chopped tomato in with the garlic. Needs a bit more sauce so maybe I'd up the steaming liquid and/or throw in some butter at the end? But overall delish + easy!